Alternative Vote – Labour Position
First glance and it seems strange that Ed Miliband, Leader of the Labour Party, is pushing for the Alternative Vote (AV) while some of the biggest names in the Labour Party are against AV.
The natural position for both Labour and the Conservatives is against AV, as it challenges the status quo of them taking it in turn to have power and opposition, both paid positions.
However Ed Miliband wants to prove he’s different to Blair and Brown, despite having most of their henchmen on his front bench, and appears to have chosen AV as one of the key ways to show the difference.
It’s a gamble for him. If AV gets the go ahead, then he can proudly say it’s a win for him, yet many in his party will probably lose their seats at the next general election and many others will be forced to work really hard for what have been safe seats. If the country doesn’t vote for AV, then it will weaken an already weak Labour leader.
